Search form

Pac-10 Names Softball Player/Pitcher Of The Week

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.- UCLA junior Caitlin Benyi has been named the Pacific-10 Conference Softball Player of the Week, and UCLA sophomore Lisa Dodd has been named Pitcher of the Week for May 3-9, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

Benyi, from Scottsdale, Ariz., helped UCLA to a three-game weekend sweep of No. 3 Arizona and Arizona State. She hit .750, going 6-for-8 with six runs scored, a double, three home runs and six RBI for a 2.000 slugging percentage. With her one walk and two hit-by-pitches figured in, Benyi had an .818 on-base percentage for the week (reached base 9-of-11 plate appearances) and was perfect defensively on six chances. Benyi is now hitting .360 on the season. In the win on May 6 over Arizona, Benyi went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, including the game-winning run (UCLA's first of the game). In that contest, Benyi had a double in the third inning, coming around to score, a single and a run scored in the sixth, and a solo home run in the top of the seventh for UCLA's sixth and final run. The victory completed a season sweep of the Wildcats by UCLA for the first time since 1985 and the first three-game winning streak for UCLA over Arizona since 1995. In the victory on May 7 over the Sun Devils, Benyi was hit by a pitch in the first inning, had a grand slam home run in the third and was hit by a pitch in the seventh. Sunday's run-rule win saw Benyi go 2-for-2 with two runs scored, including a solo home run in the fourth inning.

Dodd, from San Diego, Calif., pitched two complete-game shutouts on the road last week against No. 3 Arizona and Arizona State. In those two starts, Dodd pitched a seven-inning shutout in UCLA's 6-0 win over No. 3 Arizona, striking out three, and followed that performance with a second complete-game shutout, this time a five-inning one-hitter against Arizona State. In the win on May 8, Dodd allowed a two-out hit in the first inning, then proceeded to retire the next 13 batters she faced in the game. The first-inning hit by the Sun Devils was the only base runner of the day for ASU. Her pitching line for the week was a 0.00 ERA, a 2-0 record, two complete-game shutouts, 12 innings pitched, five strikeouts, and two walks, allowing nine hits in the process. Dodd helped the Bruins offensively as well, hitting .500 for the weekend (4-for-8) with two runs scored, a double, a home run and three RBI with a 1.000 slugging percentage.

This is the fifth weekly honor for Benyi and the first for Dodd. The awards are the 87th and 88th all-time honors for the Bruins, respectively.